India on Sale! Central TU's Call to Resist!

[Sukla Sen]

India on Garage Sale!

@rental rate!

The Loot Maar Raj!

Now comes by far the largest act of robbery!

Marching towards Atmanirbhar Bharat!

(Each ordinary one on one's own.

No state support.

The State to support only the Cronies, and the likes, to fleece the ordinary ones.)

Let's Resist!!!

Let's Observe:

All-India Bandh on September 27!

National Protest Day on October 21!

[The Nefarious Project]

The so called ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’ (NMP) was announced by the Union Finance Minister on 23 August 2021, to raise Rs 6 lakh crore over the next 4 years. The plan envisages leasing out various Government assets such as 26,700 Kms highways worth Rs.1.6 Lakh (L) Crore (Cr); - 400 Railway stations and 150 trains (Rs.1.5 L.Cr); - 42,300 Circuit Kms of Power Transmission Lines (Rs.0.67 L.Cr); - 5,000 MW Hydro, Solar and Wind Power Generation assets (Rs.0.32 L.Cr); - 8,000 Kms of National Gas Pipelines (Rs.0.24 L.Cr); - 4,000 Kms Pipelines of IOC and HPCL (Rs.0.22 L.Cr); BSNL and MTNL Towers (Rs.0.39 L.Cr); - 21 Airports and 31 Ports (Rs.0.34 L.Cr); 160 Coal Mining projects (Rs.0.32 L.Cr); and 2 Sport Stadiums (Rs.0.11 L.Cr) etc. for various durations of lease. It is claimed that the funds so generated will be invested in expanding infrastructure. This is nothing but a nefarious design to hand over all infrastructural assets to private hands virtually free for revenue generation by them without any obligation of capital cost and share a small part of that huge revenue with the Govt.

That is why this plan is being criticized roundly as free-privatisation (rather doling out) of national assets built with tax-payers’ money. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the FM, is defending this decision saying the ownership of the assets will remain with the Government and therefore it is not outright privatisation. Nobody is convinced with this justification.

While this debate is going on, further advisories went out from the Government to all the Gram Panchayats, to monetize their assets such as common lands, water bodies, common buildings etc. to add to their finances. The diabolic effect this will have on village society can only be guessed.

[The Immediate Effects]

[I. All Round Price Rise]

Commonsense will tell you that the immediate effect of this latest Government move will be price-rise for the common man for all the infrastructural services being leased out to private players. Because the private operators, as per the official NMP document, have been empowered to increase the user/service charges of all those infrastructures and make windfall profit at the cost of common people.

[II. Massive Loss of Jobs]

Contrary to the argument by the government, that jobs would be created, thousands of workers will lose their jobs worsening the already alarming unemployment situation. Quality of jobs would further deteriorate. The SC/ ST sections would be among the worst affected, as there is no reservation in jobs in the private sector.

[III. Drastic Curtailment in Social Welfare by State]

Add to this the Government’s announcement to sell 100 profit making PSUs. This means that the profit flowing into Government coffers will stop and start flowing into private corporate’s coffers. Again It does not require deep economic knowledge to know that Government’s ability to provide Social Security to people will be curtailed due to these steps.

(Excerpted from: <http://mainstreamweekly.net/article11582.html>.)